Student Union’s Treasury allocated $245,000 to bring in seven speakers for next year’s Trending Topics, its speaker series, in a special session Saturday.

Famed chef and writer Eddie Huang spoke about his personal experiences as an Asian-American in the United States at Graham Chapel on Monday, specifically addressing minority stereotypes and how they manifested within the context of his childhood.

Award-winning filmmaker and activist Bree Newsome discussed her experiences with the Black Lives Matter movement on Wednesday.

Comedian Jessica Williams and actress Ellen Page will not be part of Student Union’s Speaker Series this year, removing the two highest-profile guests from the annual speaker schedule.

Student Union Speaker Series’ most expensive speaker will be appearing at an event charging an entrance fee, but organizers and SU executives say they are working to ensure that Washington University students are able to hear Ellen Page’s speech free of charge.

Ellen Page, Jessica Williams and Eddie Huang are among seven speakers and a panel that Student Union allocated over $200,000 to after more than seven hours of debate.

Following last year’s largest-ever nine-person Speaker Series, Student Union approved more than $200,000 on Saturday to bring eight speakers to Washington University’s campus for the annual event. Like last year, the series promises several well-known names and a diverse range of professions, races and identities.

Earlier this week, Student Union Exec released a report detailing its accomplishments and general review information for its 2014-15 tenure. We offer our independent review of Student Union’s past year.

Reza Aslan, a religious historian and long-form journalist, spoke on Tuesday in Graham Chapel on the subjects of faith, extremism and democracy.

With the help of carry-forward funds from last year, Student Union devoted its most significant budget in several years to its 2014-15 Speaker Series. Assuming that the funded speakers have schedules amenable to coming, this year’s selection promises to end up as one of the best in recent memory.